Uniformly collapsible tube



June 23, 1953 FlNK 2,643,027

UNIFORMLY COLLAPSIBLE TUBE Filed July 26, 1947 I N V EN TOR. Mar/ M Fin/r M BY W 5 ATTORNEY Patented June 23, 1953 UNIFORMLY coLLAPsInLElTnBE Mearl.M. Fink,Toledo, Ohio Application July26, 1947, Serial No. 763,801 2 Claims. (c1.222' 92 The present invention relates to improvements in the construction of collapsible tubes of the type employed in packaging and dispensing tooth paste, shaving creams, cosmetics, and all similar packaged products, the tubes usually being made of thin metals or plastics, and has for its object to provide an inherent construction in the tube formation which would greatlyfacilitate the ejection of the contents by the user whendispensing the material contained in the tube. I have diss covered that when making a tube of the char acter indicated of thin material which may be rolled up as is regarded as the most efficient means of ejecting all the material in thetube that by providing means for producing an even continuous folding or roll of the collapsed material of the tube after the contents have been removed from that portion thereof, a most-satisiactory article is produced.

More specifically, I have found that by providing inexpensive stiffening means on diametrically opposite sides of such a collapsible tube that then an even flat uniform fold of the Walls thereof, when completely collapsed, ejects-all of the material of the tube and that the same is readily produced by using the tube material itself to form the reinforcement andstill an extremely thin wall thickness of the material or body of the tube may be employed.

Moreover, a further object of my invention is to provide a unique reinforcementmeanscapable of permitting rolling upon collapsing of the tube in the manner indicated, said means arranged to present practically the entire smooth surface of the tube before'use forprinting or lithographing as may be desired.

Further objects and advantages are within the scope of the invention such as relate to the arrangement, operation and function of the related elements of the structure, to various details of construction and to combinations of parts, elements per se, and to economics of manufacture and numerous other features as will be apparent from a consideration of the specification and drawing of a form of the invention, which may be preferred, in which:

Figure I is a side elevational view of one em bodiment of my invention;

Figure II-is a perspective view of the tube illustrated in Figure I partly rolled up;

Figure III is a section on the line IIIIII of Figure I;

Figure IV is a view of modifications of the longitudinal reinforcing bead illustrated in Figure III; while ,Figure V is an illustration of several modifitions of a different type of reinforcement in the tube produced by the extrusion method;

Figure VI is a perspective detailed view of a further modification of my reinforcing rib;

Referrin to Figure I, It represents a collapsible tube which may be made of .soft metals or plastics, the metal type being composed of such metals as tin, lead, aluminum and thelike or a mixture of the same. The wall ll of the tube may be of a very thin :material, the same being illustrated in Figure III in exaggerated form. tis tobe understood that the tophead 12 of the tube is usually made of thicker material than the tube sidewall, and the-head I2 is fitted-with a removable screw cap is which engages threads integrally formed on an extending neck on'thc shoulder 42. The :contents of the tube are injected into the same throughtherear, then open end, and after filling, such :open end of the tube is usually closedas shown in FigureiI by a clip M extending from side to side along a transverse diameter of the tube as shown'or the closin may be accomplished by various'other means such as utilizing the .material of the wall of'the tube folded upon itself to.'form-the end seal.

Extending longitudinally :of the tube from-the bottom clip it on diametrically :opposite sides, I arrange a reinforcing means I5 extendingto the-top of the tube or;adjacent'the closed end [2 thereof. In the embodiment illustrated in Figfolding the metal composing the tube back on ures I to III, this reinforcement i5 is formed by itself as indicated at it and H, the two inner sides of the rib contacting and laying flat one against the other as indicated in Figure III. While the shape of the tube on the section IIIIII is more or less circular, as indicated in Figure III, it is understood that the clip I 4 or other closing means at the bottom end brings the sides of the tube to a flat edge at this point so that various sections of the tube, particularly adjacent the lower end, naturally assume a more or less elliptical shape in cross sectional formation.

By forming the parallel diametrically opposite ribs l5 and leaving the rest of the tube unmodified, I have found that this reinforcement at these particular edges forms a stiff bearing arrangement at these points as the tube is rolled up upon expelling the contents thereof, as indicated in Figure II. It will be seen that the thickened arrangement of the ribs I 5 not only forms a stifier narrow section for the tube along these diametrically opposite edges, but the thickness also forms a space so that the material of the roll 18, indicated in Figure II, will find room to be accurately, smoothly, and substantially uniformly rolled as indicated from the end view at l9.

In Figure IV, I have shown two modifications of the rib l5 one in which the fold assumes more or less the shape of a teardrop viewed in a cross section, as indicated at 20 and the other has more or less of a V-formation, as indicated at 2!. By reason of these particular shapes, it will be seen that the spacing of the spiral rolled up formation indicated at l9 may be varied to suit the particular type of material of which the tube i is composed in any given instance.

As shown in Figure VI, another variation of the type of ribs shown in Figure IV, I have made, by crimping the ribs or formations l5, 90 from the longitudinal plane to thereby further stiffen the edges [5 of the tube and at the same time permit satisfactory and uniform rolling of the tube upon discharge of the contents.

Moreover, I make the ribs l5 of a stiffness which I vary according to the character of the material to be packaged in or the contents of the tube and dependent upon the material used in forming the wall of the tube itself.

In Figure V, I have illustrated a method of producing a tube of the character indicated in which the rib i5 is formed by the extrusion method when the tube itself is formed (as is the case in forming the crimp IS in Figures III and IV) but in the illustrations included in Figure V, the rib I5 is solid material formed integrally with the rest of the tube body ID as indicated. In each of the various modifications illustrated, I have found that the tube may be very readily rolled up easily and neatly, as indicated in Figure II to produce the desired results of being assured of ejecting all of the material contained in the tubes by reason of collapsing and rolling the same up into the roll indicated at 19, the reinforcements l5 and I5 forming bearings, and since these are much stiffer than the rest of the tube, the pressure required to promptly roll these two diametrically opposite edges naturally is sufiicient to roll the rest of the tube part it and since the same is relatively limp compared with the stiff edges l5 on opposite sides, as indicated, an extremely smooth fiat roll [9 may be readily produced by the most casual user in ejecting the contents of the tube.

It is apparent that, within the scope of the invention, modifications and different arrangements may be made other than is herein disclosed, and the present disclosure is illustrative merely, the invention comprehending all variations thereof.

What I claim is:

l. A tube for packaging dispensable material. said tube comprising a one-piece relatively thin wall of pliable non-elastic permanently deformable material capable of being rolled upon itself to expel the contents of the tube; and a pair of integral reinforcements extending longitudinally along substantially diametrically opposite sections of said tube, said reinforcements comprising stiffening ribs formed from the material of said tube wall and extending inside and outside of said tube to form longitudinal relatively stiff inert bearings permanently deformable to uniformly roll the non-elastic pliable intervening wall portions of said tube upon itself and retaining the same substantially in said rolled up position.

2. A tube for packaging dispensable material, said tube comprising a one-piece relatively thin wall of pliable non-elastic deformable metallic material capable of remaining in substantially completely deformed condition upon being rolled upon itself to expel the contents of the tube, the transverse configuration of said thin walled tube forming a substantially continuous smooth curvature surrounding the contents of the tube; said wall having a pair of integral reinforcements extending longitudinally along substantially diametrically opposite sections of said tube exteriorly thereof and formed from the material of said tube wall providing stiffening ribs continuing substantially from end to end lengthwise of said tube to form longitudinal relatively stiff inert permanently deformable bearing surfaces, both of said longitudinal bearing surfaces forming uninterrupted integral continuations of the metal tube wall and said reinforcements acting upon discharge of the contents of said tube to retain the non-elastic permanently deformable intervening wall portion of said tube substantially in said rolled up condition.

MEARL M. FINK.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,339,464 Deskey Jan. 18, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 133,993 Great Britain Oct. 27, 1919 

